ART TALKS at The Artistic Forum

"Die Walküre is the second of a four part opera composed by Richard Wagner - a composition titled: "The Ring of the Nibelung" or "The Ring" -- that took a quarter century to complete. The Ring revolutionized the opera, both as to how it was presented, no longer the spoken words interspersed with song, but sung entirely, and also performance: it was grand in scale, prompting Wagner to build his own opera hall to accommodate his vision of how it should be presented.

Because of its extraordinary length, audiences, today, rarely see the entire opera, but sections - 1. Das Rhinegold, 2. Die Walküre, 3. Siegfried, and 4. Gütterdümmerung. Of the four sections to this magnificent body of work, Die Walküre, is often described as the most audience friendly, in that it stands nicely alone and can be enjoyed in its own right.

Like most of Wagner's work, this, too, is moody, mythical, inspiring and bold.

Four hours in length, with two intermissions, Die Walküre, is about the fated, incestuous relationship between a brother (Sigmund) and his already but unhappily married sister (Sieglinde) whose love is condemned by the gods (the god Wotan, who loves Sigmund, his son, and most particularly by Wotan's vengeful, manipulative wife, Fricka who wants Siegmund dead). Condemned to die for his transgressions, it is left to Wotan to direct his Valkyrie warrior goddess daughter, Brünnhilde to carry out the task and, instead of protecting Siegmund in battle, allow him to die at the hands of Sieglinde's scorned husband, Hunding. Reluctantly, Brünnhilde accepts her assignment but upon seeing and hearing of Siegmund's love, and realizing he would rather reject Valhalla rather than surrender his beloved Sieglinde, who is now pregnant with child, Brünnhilde betrays her father's wishes and lets Siegmund live. When Wotan arrives at the scene of the battle and witnesses his daughter's betrayal he carries out the task himself, condemning his son to death and his daughter to sleep eternally as a human, only to be awakened by the kiss of a mortal man. Stripped of her godly powers, she, in turn asks that she be surrounded by a terrifying flame, and that only the bravest of human man be allowed to approach. Wotan relents and in the final act vows: "Whosoever fears the point of my spear shall not pass through the fire," thus ending part II and setting the audience up nicely for part III, "Siegfried", the son of - you guessed it - our fated lover, Sieglinde.

WHERE I VIEWED IT

DAR Constitutional Hall, D.C.

I had the occasion to see Die Walküre at the DAR Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. It was a spectacular presentation by The Washington Opera. The U-shaped hall with ample, but tightly packed stadium seating, is perfect for viewing, but not so great if you want to take a deep breath. The acoustics were excellent, and the orchestra, under the superb direction of Heinz Fricke, although hidden behind a floor-to-ceiling screen that was behind the performers -- unlike traditional orchestral placement, up front and below, was nonetheless breathtakingly powerful when it needed. It was, to my surprise, crisp, clear and flawless in presentation.

Two screens hung above -- to the right and left of the stage -- allowing English surtitles for those who could read them. Unfortunately, the screens are to small for such a magnificent hall, and by the middle of the third act members of the audience were visibly distracted by the effort to see what was being said. This needs to change if this hall is to meet its high expectations. Having said that, the Greek style amphitheater nature of the auditorium, the colorful and expertly utilized lighting that is sewn harmoniously into the fabric of the presentation, makes the Hall more than suitable for such grand performances. It makes for a warm, familial setting that is both elegant and relaxed. I look forward to seeing more performances here.

THE PERFORMANCE:

The set design and costumes -- austere, post modern, nuclear, apocalyptic, different -- caused a palpable stir among the audience as it awaited the opening act. Prior to the performance there were whispers of doubt. This is an opera set in the days of dragons and mythical beings, juxtaposed beside - well, performers more suited for an S&M workout. What was the director, set and customer designer thinking? When the first act began, there was clear reservation on the part of the audience. By the end of the act, the audience was simply swept away by the utterly breathtaking and staggeringly powerful performances of Plácido Domingo, in the role of Siegmund, and Anja Kempa, who made her Washington Opera debut, as Sieglinde.

The buzz when the lights came up was electric as applause and calls of bravo filled the hall. This was one of those special moments that make opera so exciting and gratifying when it works.

In every respect, each actor delivered a masterful performance, and quickly the Spartan set design melded into a non distraction and actually ended up being transformed into exactly what one wants on such occasions: a backdrop to solid performances that can move one to the brink of tears. There were solid performances all throughout: Soprano Linda Watson, as Brünnhilde, brought a human and vulnerable dimension to the Vakyrie goddess that with each appearance on stage generated excitement in the audience. Baritone Alan Held as Wotan was powerful, tragic, conflicted. Kurt Rydl, was similarly powerful and commanding as the estranged and avenging husband, Hunding. Their voices filled the hall. The wicked, Fricka, played wonderfully by Elena Zaremba was hypnotic and cast a spell over the audience no less than the one she cast over her husband, Hunding. And the Valkyries, all of them radiated kinetic energy on stage that bordered on nuclear. My hair stood on end at the beginning of Act III, when Ride of the Valkyries carried the audience to new heights.

And finally there is the orchestra. DAR Constitution Hall came alive with the richness of unfiltered music, delivered with gusto, moody restraint, textured and full bodied instrumentation and studied perfection. This orchestra, under the direction of Heinz Fricke performed for four hours and at all times was more than up to the task of matching while not overpowering the remarkable voices of this ideal cast. This is how music is supposed to be heard: from musician's instrument to one's ear, with nothing acting as buffer. This is the best of opera. PJW
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Our reviewer, Paul Walkowski, is the writer and publisher of OperaOnline.us. His online opera ezine covers topics that may not be found in the mainstream journals, and approaches those subjects perhaps a little differently. OperaOnline.us strives to give its readers a sense of what it was and is like to be a member of an opera audience.